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THE  COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES, 

AS  PURSUED  IN 

OBERLIN  COLLEGE. 

[Republished  from  Barnard’s  American  Journal  of  Education  for  January,  18G8.] 


THE 


American  Jouvnal  of  education. 


[national  series,] 

No.  2.— JANUARY,  1868. 


CONTENTS. 

Pag*. 

Portrait  of  Nathan  Bishop,  LL.  D.,  first  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools  in  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  and  in  Boston,  Mass., 209 

I.  The  Clergy  and  Popular  Education, 211 

Letter  from  William  Chauncey  Fowler,  LL.  D., 211 

II.  English  Pedagogy — Old  and  New, 223 

III.  A New  Discovery  of  the  Old  Art  of  Teaching,  by  Charles  Hoole, 223 

Part  II.  The  English  Grammar  School  in  1659, 225 

1.  The  Usher’s  Duty, 225 

2.  The  Master’s  Method, 267 

3.  Scholastic  Discipline, 293 

IV.  Abraham  Cowley,  and  Realistic  Instruction  in  England, 325 

Memoir, 325 

V.  Plan  of  a Philosophical  College  in  1661,  by  A.  Cowley, 327 

The  College,  or  Organized  Society, 327 

Grounds,  Building,  Equipment 328 

Professors,  Scholars,  and  other  Officers, 329 

The  School  and  Methods  of  Instruction, 331 

Results  of  Education  and  Society, 333 

Essay  on  Agriculture  in  1661,  by  A.  Cowley, 334 

Suggestion  of  a College  of  Agriculture, 336 

VI.  Public  Instruction  in  Switzerland, 337 

Canton  of  Zurich 337 

Territory,  Population,  Government,  School  Organization, 337 

System  of  Public  Instruction 338 

Compulsory  Attendance — School  Officers, 338 

1.  Primary  Schools, 341 

Elementary  School — Real  School — Repetition  School, 343 

Seminary  for  Teachers  of  Primary  Schools, 345 

Teachers’  Certificate — Chapters — Synod — Annual  Meeting  of  Teachers’ Synod,.. . 346 

2.  Secondary  Schools 351 

3.  Superior  and  Professional  Schools 354 

(a)  Gymnasium,  Lower  and  Upper, 357 

(5)  Scientific  Industrial  School 358 

(c)  Veterinary  School, 358 

(d)  Agricultural  School, 359 

(e)  University,  or  Faculty  of  Theology,  Law,  Medicine  and  Philosophy, 3G0 

Cantonal  Normal  School  at  Kussnacht, 361 

Cantonal  University  at  Zurich, 366 

Swiss  Federal  Polytechnic  University  at  Zurich, 369 

VII.  The  Philosophy  and  Method  of  Teaching, 381 

As  Taught  at  the  State  Normal  School  at  Westfield,  Mass., 381 

VIII.  Coeducation  of  the  Sexes, 385 

Experience  of  Oberlin  College  from  1833  to  1868, 385 

Note — Oberlin  College 400 

IX.  Normal  Schools,  or  Seminaries  for  Teachers, 401 

Address  by  John  S.  Hart,  LL.  D.,  Principal  of  State  Normal  School,  Trenton,  N.  J.,  401 

X.  American  Ethnology, 425 

Proposition  for  a National  Society . 427 

£5“  The  American  Journal  of  Education,  National  Series,  Volume  I.,  for  1867-8,  edited 
by  Henry  Barnard,  LL.  D.,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  is  issued  quarterly  at  $4.00  per 
annum,  (four  numbers,)  by  D.  N.  Camp.  Publisher , Hartford,  Conn. 


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COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 

AN  ADDRESS  BEFORE  A MEETING  OF  COLLEGE  PRESIDENTS  AT  SPRINGFIELD,  ILL. 

BY  REV.  JAMES  H.  FAIRCHILD,  D.  D.,  OF  OBERLIN  COLLEGE,  JULY  IOtH,  1857. 


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Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Association  : 

The  invitation  extended  to  me  by  yonr  Executive  Committee,  to 
share  in  your  deliberations  upon  this  question,  was  based  upon  the 
fact  of  my  connection  with  a school  in  which  the  system  of  educa- 
tion under  discussion  has  been  in  operation  for  many  years  ; and  it 
was  intended  that  I should  present  the  subject  in  the  light  of  that 
experience.  It  seems  more  fitting  to  confine  myself  to  arrangements 
and  results  at  Oberlin,  stated  descriptively  and  historically,  than  to 
attempt  any  general  discussion  of  the  subject — a work  more  appro- 
priate to  the  members  of  the  Association. 

That  I may  speak  without  restraint  upon  these  matters,  it  is 
proper  for  me  to  say  that  I entered  the  College  as  a boy  at  its  open- 
ing, and  served  seven  years  as  a pupil  before  entering  upon  the 
responsibilities  of  a member  of  its  board  of  instruction.  Thus  I 
appear  before  you  as  one  of  the  children  of  the  school,  and  not  one 
of  the  fathers,  and  shall  not  seem  to  speak  of  the  work  of  my  own 
hands,  as  I claim  no  personal  responsibility  for  the  wisdom  or  folly 
of  the  arrangement. 

Oberlin  College  is  now  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  its  life,  and 
from  the  beginning  has  embraced  among  its  pupils  both  young  men 
and  young  women.  The  first  year  it  was  a high  school,  with  some- 
thing over  a hundred  pupils,  more  than  one-third  of  whom  were 
ladies : not  a local  school,  for  the  enterprise  started  in  the  woods, 
and  one-half  of  the  students  at  least  were  from  New  England  and 
New  York.  The  second  year  the  numbers  increased  to  nearly  300, 
with  theological  and  college  classes  in  full  operation,  the  ladies  being 
about  one-fourth  of  the  whole.  In  two  or  three  years  the  numbers 
reached  500,  and  maintained  that  annual  average  until  1852,  when 
the  number  was  suddenly  doubled,  and  has  averaged  more  than  a 
thousand  yearly  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  The  proportion  of  young 
ladies  has  not  for  many  years  fallen  below  one-third,  nor  risen  above 
one-half,  except  during  the  war,  when  the  ladies  predominated  in 
the  ratio  of  five  to  four.  The  last  Annual  Catalogue  gives  655 

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COEDUCATION  OF  TIIE  SEXES. 


gentlemen  and  490  ladies,  and  this  is  about  the  normal  proportion. 
These  are  young  men  and  women  of  such  ages  as  the  advanced 
schools  of  the  land  generally  present. 

The  town  began  with  the  school  and  has  kept  pace  with  it,  con- 
taining at  present  from  3,000  to  4,000  inhabitants.  At  first,  almost 
all  the  accommodations  for  the  students  in  room  and  board  were 
furnished  by  the  College.  The  dormitory  system  was  adopted  for 
both  young  men  and  young  women,  separate  halls  or  buildings 
being  assigned  to  each — the  ladies’  hall  being  also  a boarding-hall, 
in  which  seats  at  table  were  provided  for  young  men.  As  the  num- 
bers increased  and  the  dwellings  in  the  village  were  improved  and 
multiplied,  the  students  were  to  a greater  extent  provided  for  among 
the  families,  until  at  present  far  the  greater  number  are  thus  fur- 
nished with  homes.  Our  present  ladies’  hall  affords  rooms  for  about 
100  young  ladies,  and  sittings  at  table  for  about  220  boarders. 
Large  boarding-houses  are  not  found ; but  a majority  of  families 
that  have  room  receive  a few  students.  The  young  ladies  find  their 
homes  under  this  arrangement  as  well  as  the  young  men.  Some 
families  receive  young  ladies  only  ; but  families  are  permitted,  with 
suitable  arrangements,  to  receive  both  classes.  The  entire  female 
department  is  under  the  immediate  charge  of  a lady  Principal,  and 
her  assistant ; and  these  are  Occupied,  not  with  teaching,  to  any 
considerable  extent,  but  with  the  care  and  supervision  of  the  young 
ladies,  their  classification  and  general  culture.  These  principals 
communicate,  as  occasion  may  require,  with  the  matrons  of  the 
families  where  the  young  ladies  board.  The  special  discipline  of 
the  young  ladies  is  committed  to  the  lady  Principal,  assisted  by  a 
‘ Ladies’  Board  of  Managers,’  composed  in  general  of  wives  of  pro- 
fessors in  the  college.  The  advice  of  the  College  Faculty  is  some- 
times taken,  but  the  young  ladies  do  not  come  before  them  for  spe- 
cial discipline.  The  regulations  of  the  school,  for  both  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  are  intended  to  be  addressed  to  the  good  sense  and  per- 
sonal responsibility  of  the  pupil.  We  have  no  monitors,  but  each 
one  makes  a weekly  report  of  success  or  failure  in  the  performance 
of  prescribed  duties : young  ladies  boarding  in  families  have  their 
report  countersigned  by  the  matron  of  the  house,  who  is  in  a degree 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  her  charge.  The  ladies’  hall  is  the 
headquarters  of  the  female  department,  where  the  Principal  receives 
all  the  ladies  for  general  instruction  and  for  personal  advice. 

Throughout  the  literary  departments  the  classes  consist  of  young 
men  and  young  women,  taken  indiscriminately,  as  their  studies  cor- 
respond. The  larger  numbers  of  both  sexes  are  found  in  our  Pre- 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


3 


paratory  Department — a department  which  embraces,  besides  those 
preparing  for  the  regular  courses,  a large  number  that  study  for  a 
more  limited  time.  This  department  is  under  the  charge  of  a gen- 
tleman Principal,  whose  strength  is  expended  chiefly  upon  oversight, 
classification,  and  discipline,  and  an  associate  Professor  of  Lan- 
guages, who  gives  himself  to  the  teaching  of  the  advanced  classes  in 
Latin  and  Greek.  The  other  classes  in  this  department  are  taught 
by  successful  pupils  (gentlemen  and  ladies)  from  the  higher  depart- 
ments. After  the  Preparatory  Department,  we  have  two  courses 
open  to  young  ladies — the  1 Ladies’  Course,’  and  the  regular  ‘ Col- 
lege Course.’  The  Ladies’  Course  is  a course  of  four  years,  requir- 
ing, as  conditions  of  entering,  a good  elementary  English  education, 
and  a year’s  study  of  Latin.  It  embraces  all  the  studies  of  the 
regular  College  course,  omitting  all  the  Greek  and  most  of  the  Latin, 
omitting  also  the  Differential  and  Integral  Calculus,  and  adding 
lessons  in  French  and  Drawing,  and  some  branches  of  natural  science. 
Those  pursuing  this  course  recite  with  the  college  classes  in  the 
same  studies.  Separate  classes  are  organized  for  the  ladies  in  essay- 
writing until  the  commencement  of  the  third  year,  when  they  are 
added  to  the  Junior  College  class  in  this  exercise.  Their  training 
in  this  department  is  limited  to  reading  and  writing,  none  of  the 
ladies  having  any  exercise  in  speaking.  The  great  majority  of  our 
young  ladies  pursue  this  course,  and  it  was  supposed  at  the  organi- 
zation of  the  school  that  nothing  farther  would  be  required  for 
them;  but  in  1837  four  young  ladies  prepared  themselves  for  the 
Freshman  class,  and  were  received  upon  their  own  petition.  Since 
that  time  it  has  been  understood  that  the  College  Course  is  open  to 
young  ladies,  and  we  have  always  had  more  or  less  in  the  classes : 
sometimes  the  proportion  of  ladies  to  gentlemen  in  the  course  has 
been  as  high  as  one  to  four;  at  present  it  is  one  to  ten.  We  have 
observed  no  special  tendency  to  an  increase  in  this  proportion  ; for 
the  last  three  years  there  has  been  a diminution.  The  ladies  in  this 
course  are  under  the  same  general  regulations  and  discipline  as  in 
the  other  course,  and  are  responsible  to  the  lady  Principal.  At  the 
termination  of  their  course  they  receive  the  regular  degree  in  the 
Arts.  Eighty-four  ladies  have  received  this  degree,  and  three  hundred 
and  ninety-five  have  received  the  diploma  of  the  Ladies’  Course. 

The  Theological  Department  has  never  been  opened  to  ladies,  as 
regular  members.  Two  young  ladies  attended  upon  all  the  exer- 
cises of  the  department  through  a three-years  course,  and  were 
entered  upon  the  Annual  Catalogue  as  ‘ resident  graduates  pursuing 
the  Theological  course.’  This  was  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  and  we 


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COEDUCATION  OF  TIIE  SEXES. 


have  had  no  applications  since.  Doubtless  the  same  privileges 
would  be  afforded  as  formerly. 

The  association  of  gentlemen  and  ladies  out  of  the  class-room  is 
regulated  as  experience  seems  to  require.  They  sit  at  the  same 
table  in  families  and  in  the  Ladies’  Hall.  Young  gentlemen  call  on 
ladies  in  a social  way  at  the  parlors  of  the  Ladies’  Hall  and  of  pri- 
vate families,  between  the  hour  for  tea  and  half-past  seven  in  the 
winter,  and  eight  o’clock  in  the  summer.  They  walk  in  groups 
from  one  class-room  to  another,  as  convenience  and  their  sense  of 
propriety  may  dictate,  with  the  help  of  a suggestion,  if  needed,  from 
thoughtful  and  observing  friends.  Now  and  then  the  young  ladies 
have  permission  to  attend  an  evening  lecture  given  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  College,  and  in  such  case  to  accept  the  attendance  of 
young  men.  No  such  association  is  permitted  in  the  case  of  reli- 
gious meetings.  They  do  not  ride  or  walk  together  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  village,  except  on  a holyday,  under  special  arrange- 
ments. There  is  no  association  of  the  sexes  in  literary  societies,  or 
other  voluntary  and  independent  organizations. 

It  seemed  necessary  to  give  this  detail  of  arrangements,  that  the 
conditions  upon  which  the  solution  of  the  problem  has  been  con- 
ducted with  us  may  be  fully  understood.  In  speaking  of  results,  I 
wish  to  be  understood  as  giving  not  merely  my  own  individual 
judgment,  but  the  unanimous  opinion,  so  far  as  I understand  it,  of 
all  who  have  had  responsibility  in  connection  with  the  school.  If 
there  has  been  any  diversity  of  sentiment  on  the  subject,  it  has  been 
unknown  to  me.  Others  might  choose  different  terms  in  which  to 
express  their  opinions,  but  I shall  endeavor  to  make  no  statement 
from  which  I suppose  that  any  one  of  those  that  are  or  have  been 
associated  in  this  work  would  dissent. 

Among  the  advantages- which  seem  to  be  involved  in  the  system, 
as  we  have  observed  its  operation,  are  the  following : 

1.  Economy  of  means  and  forces.  The  teaching  force  and 
other  apparatus  required  in  all  the  higher  departments  of  study  is 
made  available  to  a larger  number.  In  most  Western  Colleges  the 
higher  classes  might  be  doubled  without  an}^  detriment,  and  often 
with  great  advantage.  Scarce  any  one  of  these  schools  has  had 
larger  classes  than  our  own,  and  yet  only  once  or  twice  have  we  had 
occasion  to  make  two  divisions  in  any  college  class,  including  the 
ladies  pursuing  the  same  study.  In  the  preparatory  department, 
classes  must  be  multiplied  on  account  of  numbers ; but  in  the 
higher  departments  of  instruction,  wThere  the  chief  expense  is  in- 
volved, the  expense  is  no  greater  on  account  of  the  presence  of 


COEDUCATION  OF  TIIE  SEXES. 


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ladies.  If  a separate  establishment  were  attempted  for  ladies, 
affording  the  same  advantages,  the  outlay  in  men  and  means  would 
have  to  be  duplicated  ; or,  as  would  often  happen,  the  force  would 
have  to  be  divided,  and  the  advantages  as  well.  Of  course,  if  there 
were  obvious  disadvantages  in  the  arrangement,  the  argument  from 
economy  would  have  essentially  no  weight.  We  must  have  the 
best  system  of  higher  education  at  any  necessary  cost. 

2.  Convenience  to  the  patrons  of  the  school.  It  has  been  a matter 
of  interest  with  us  to  note  the  number  of  cases  in  which  a brother  is 
accompanied  or  followed  by  a sister,  or  a sister  by  a brother.  I can 
not  give  exact  statements  upon  this  point ; but  it  is  an  interesting 
and  prominent  feature  in  our  operations.  This  is  most  convenient 
and  wholesome  ; each  is  safer  from  the  presence  of  the  other ; and 
the  inducements  to  attend  school,  to  the  one  or  the  other,  are  in- 
creased by  the  possibility  of  having  each  other’s  company.  The 
want  and  tendency  in  this  direction  are  shown  in  the  fact  that  in 
the  vicinity  of  every  flourishing  college,  opened  for  young  men  only, 
a ladies’  school,  equally  flourishing,  is  almost  sure  to  be  established, 
requiring  afterward  a good  degree  of  vigilance  to  keep  apart  those 
who  have  thus  naturally  come  together. 

3.  Another  advantage  we  find  in  the  wholesome  incitements  to 
study  which  the  system  affords.  This  is  a want  in  all  schools,  pro- 
vided for  often  by  a marking  and  grading  system  involving  a distri- 
bution of  honors  and  prizes.  An  acknowledged  defect  in  this  plan, 
not  to  speak  of  any  thing  unwholesome  in  the  spirit  of  rivalry 
which  it  induces,  is  in  the  fact  that  it  appeals  to  comparatively  few 
in  a class.  The  honors  are  few,  and  the  majority  soon  cease  to 
strive  for  them.  The  social  influence  arising  from  the  constitution 
of  our  classes  operates  continuously  and  almost  equally  upon  all. 
Each  desires  for  himself  the  best  standing  that  he  is  capable  of,  and 
there  is  never  a lack  of  motive  to  exertion. 

It  will  be  observed,  too,  that  the  stimulus  is  the  same  in  kind  as 
will  operate  in  after  life.  The  young  man,  going  out  into  the  world, 
does  not  leave  behind  him  the  forces  that  have  helped  him  on. 
They  are  the  ordinary  forces  of  society,  and  require  no  new  habits 
of  thought  or  action  in  order  to  their  effective  operation.  We  have 
introduced  a marking  system  into  the  recitation-room,  pertaining 
solely  to  the  performance  there,  and  used  for  the  information  of 
teachers  and  guardians,  and  the  pupil  himself : not  for  the  assign- 
ment of  grade  or  distribution  of  honors,  or  for  any  publication 
whatsoever.  We  rely  upon  the  natural  love  of  a fair  standing  with 
teachers  and  associates  as  the  supplement  to  the  higher  motives  for 
exertion,  and  have  not  found  it  a vain  reliance. 


6 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


4.  Again,  the  social  culture  which  is  incidental  to  the  system  is 
a matter  of  no  small  importance.  To  secure  this  the  student  does 
not  need  to  make  auy  expenditure  of  time,  going  out  of  his  way, 
or  leaving  his  proper  work  for  the  pleasure  or  improvement  result- 
ing from  society.  He  finds  himself  naturally  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
he  adjusts  himself  to  it  instinctively.  It  influences  his  manners,  his 
feeling,  and  his  thought.  He  may  be  as  little  conscious  of  the 
sources  of  the  influence  as  of  the  sunlight  or  the  atmosphere ; it  will 
envelope  him  all  the  same,  saving  him  from  the  excessive  introver- 
sion, the  morbid  fancies,  the  moroseness,  which  sometimes  arise  in 
secluded  study,  giving  him  elasticity  of  spirits,  and  ease  of  move- 
ment, and  refinement  of  character,  not  readily  attained  out  of 
society.  It  seems  desirable  that  our  young  men  especially  should 
enjoy  these  advantages  during  the  period  of  their  Course  of  study, 
while  the  forces  that  form  character  work  most  efficiently. 

5.  Closely  connected  with  this  influence  is  the  tendency  to 
good  order  which  we  find  in  the  system.  The  ease  with  which  the 
discipline  of  so  large  a school  is  conducted  has  not  ceased  to  be  a 
matter  of  wonder  to  ourselves.  One  thousand  students  are  gath- 
ered from  every  state  in  the  Union,  from  every  class  in  society,  of 
every  grade  of  culture — the  great  mass  of  them,  indeed,  bent  on 
improvement,  but  numbers  sent  by  anxious  friends  with  the  hope 
that  they  may  be  saved  or  recovered  from  wayward  tendencies. 
Yet  the  disorders  incident  to  such  gatherings  are  essentially  un- 
known among  us.  Our  streets  are  as  quiet  by  day  and  by  night  as 
in  any  other  country  town.  There  are  individual  cases  of  misde- 
meanor, especially  among  the  new  comers,  and  now  and  then  one  is 
informed  that  his  probation  has  been  unsatisfactory  ; but  in  the 
regularly  organized  classes  of  the  College  and  Ladies’  Departments, 
numbering  from  two  to  four  hundred  in  constant  attendance,  the 
exclusions  have  not  on  the  average  exceeded  one  in  five  years,  and 
in  one  instance  a period  of  more  than  ten  years  elapsed  without  a 
single  exclusion  from  these  classes.  This  result  we  attribute  greatly 
to  the  wholesome  influence  of  the  system  of  joint  education.  The 
student  feels  that  his  standing  and  character  are  of  grave  conse- 
quence to  him,  and  he  is  predisposed  to  take  a manly  attitude  in 
reference  to  the  government  and  regulations  of  the  school.  An 
admonition  in  the  presence  of  the  students  assembled  in  the  chapel 
has  always  been  more  dreaded  by  an  offender  than  a private  dismis. 
sion.  Offenses  against  propriety,  that  in  a body  of  young  men  form- 
ing a separate  community  would  seem  to  be  trivial,  change  their 
aspect  when  the  female  element  is  added  to  the  community ; and 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


7 


that  better  view  adds  greatly  to  the  force  of  wholesome  regulations. 
From  the  beginning,  the  use  of  tobacco  has  been  prohibited  to  our 
students.  In  the  presence  of  ladies  the  regulation  has  a force  and 
significance  that  could  not  be  otherwise  secured,  and  has  been  main- 
tained  with  a good  degree  of  success.  College  tricks  lose  their  wit 
and  attractiveness  in  a community  thus  constituted.  They  are 
essentially  unknown  among  us.  There  are  no  secret  societies,  and, 
so  far  as  I know,  there  has  been  no  tendency  toward  them.  The 
relations  of  the  classes  to  each  other  are  comfortable  and  desirable. 
With  a sufficient  degree  of  class  feeling  to  give  unity  and  collective 
force,  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  the  antagonisms  which  some- 
times appear  in  college  life.  It  may  be  a mistake  to  attribute  this 
fact  in  any  degree  to  the  social  constitution  of  the  school,  but  it 
seems  to  me  to  be  a natural  result.  The  general  force  of  the  society 
controls  and  limits  the  clannish  tendency.  We  have  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  reference  to  conduct  and  manners  in  the  college  dining- 
hall.  There  has  been  an  entire  absence  of  the  irregularities  and 
roughnesses  so  often  complained  of  in  college  commons. 

6.  Nor  can  it  be  reasonably  doubted  that  the  arrangement  tends 
to  good  order  and  morality  in  the  town  outside  of  the  school. 
Evils  that  might  be  tolerated,  in  the  shape  of  drinking-saloons  and 
other” places  of  dissipation,  if  young  men  only  were  present,  seem 
intolerable  where  ladies  are  gathered  with  them.  The  public  senti- 
ment requires  their  suppression.  Of  course,  this  influence  alone 
would  not  be  sufficient ; but  it  increases  and  intensifies  the  moral 
forces  of  the  place  which  withstand  their  introduction. 

7.  Another  manifest  advantage  is  in  the  relations  of  the  school 
to  the  community — a cordial  feeling  of  good  will,  and  the  absence 
of  that  antagonism  between  town  and  college  which  in  general 
belongs  to  the  history  of  universities  and  colleges.  The  absence  of 
disorder  in  the  school  is  the  prime  condition  of  this  good  feeling ; 
but  beyond  this,  the  constitution  of  the  school  is  so  similar  to  that 
of  the  community  that  any  conflict  is  unnatural : the  usual  occasion 
seems  to  be  wanting. 

8.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  young  people  educated  under 
such  conditions  are  *kept  in  harmony  with  society  at  large,  and  are 
prepared  to  appreciate  the  responsibilities  of  life,  and  to  enter  upon 
its  work.  They  will  not  lack  sympathy  with  the  popular  feeling,  or 
an  apprehension  of  the  common  interests.  They  are  naturally  edu- 
cated in  relation  with  the  work  of  life,  and  will  not  require  a read- 
justment. This  seems  a matter  of  grave  importance,  and  we  can 
scarcely  be  mistaken  as  to  the  happy  results  attained.  If  we  are 


8 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


not  utterly  deceived  by  our  position,  our  students  naturally  and 
readily  find  their  work  in  the  world,  because  they  have  been  trained 
in  sympathy  with  the  world. 

These  are  among  the  advantages  of  the  system  which  have  forced 
themselves  upon  our  attention.  The  list  might  be  extended  and 
expanded;  but  you  will  wish  especially  to  know  whether  we  have 
not  encountered  disadvantages  and  difficulties  which  more  than 
counterbalance  these  advantages,  and  you  will  properly  require  me 
to  speak  with  all  frankness  upon  those  difficulties  which  are  com- 
monly apprehended. 

1.  Have  young  ladies  the  ability  in  mental  vigor  and  bodily 
health  to  maintain  a fair  standing  in  a class  with  young  men  ? Do 
they  not  operate  as  a check  upon  the  progress  of  the  class,  and  de- 
grade the  standard  of  scholarship?  and  do  they  not  break  down  in 
•health  under  a pressure  which  young  men  can  sustain  ? 

To  this  inquiry  I answer,  where  there  has  been  the  same  prepar- 
atory training,  we  find  no  difference  in  ability  to  maintain  them- 
selves in  the  recitation  room.  Under  the  circumstances,  I shall  be 
excused  for  referring  to  my  own  individual  experience,  which  has 
been  somewhat  varied.  The  first  eight  years  of  my  work  as  a 
teacher  was  in  the  department  of  the  Ancient  Languages — Latin, 
Greek,  and  Hebrew ; the  next  eleven,  in  Mathematics,  abstract  and 
applied  ; the  last  eight,  in  Philosophical  and  Ethical  studies.  In 
all  these  studies  my  classes  have  included  young  women  as  well  as 
young  men,  and  I have  never  observed  any  difference  between  them 
in  performance  in  the  recitation.  The  strong  and  the  weak  scholars' 
are  equally  distributed  between  the  sexes. 

In  this  statement  I do  not  imply  that  I see  no  difference  between 
the  normal  male  and  female  mind  as  to  taste  for  particular  studies. 
I have  no  doubt  of  the  existence  of  such  differences ; but  they  do 
not  appear  in  the  ability  as  pupils  to  comprehend  and  express  the 
truth.  A few  days  since,  on  a visit  to  the  University  of  Michigan, 
I attended  a recitation  in  Thucydides.  So  far  as  could  be  judged 
from  a single  exercise,  in  which  there  were  many  excellent  perform- 
ances, the  daughter  of  the  Professor  of  Greek,  the  only  young  lady 
under  the  wing  of  the  Universitjq  led  the  class.  But  it  did  not 
strike  me  as  an  anomaly ; I had  often  seen  such  things. 

Nor  is  there  any  manifest  inability  on  the  part  of  young  women 
to  endure  the  required  labor.  A breaking  down  in  health  does  not 
appear  to  be  more  frequent  than  with  young  men.  We  have  not 
observed  a more  frequent  interruption  of  study  on  this  account ; 
nor  do  our  statistics  show  a greater  draft  upon  the  vital  forces  in 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


9 


the  case  of  those  who  have  completed  the  full  college  course.  Out 
of* eighty-four  young  ladies  who  have  graduated  since  1841,  seven 
have  died — a proportion  of  one  in  twelve.  Of  three  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  young  men  who  have  graduated  since  that  date,  thirty- 
four  are  dead,  or  a little  more  than  one  in  eleven.  Of  these  thirty- 
four  young  men,  six  fell  in  the  war ; and  leaving  those  out,  the 
proportion  of  deaths  still  remains  one  to  thirteen.  Taking  the  whole 
number  of  gentlemen  graduates,  omitting  the  Theological  Depart- 
ment, we  find  the  proportion  of  deaths  one  to  nine  anda-half;  of 
ladies,  one  to  twelve  : and  this  in  spite  of  the  lower  average  expect- 
ation of  life  for  women,  as  indicated  in  life  insurance  tables.  The 
field  is,  of  course,  too  narrow  for  perfectly  conclusive  results ; but 
there  is  no  occasion  for  special  apprehension  of  failure  of  health  to 
ladies  from  study. 

2.  But  it  is  held  by  many  that  ladies  need  a course  of  study 
adapted  to  their  nature  and  their  prospective  work,  and  that  it  must 
be  undesirable  to  bring  them  under  the  same  training  with  young 
men.  The  theory  of  our  school  has  never  been  that  men  and  wo- 
men are  alike  in  mental  constitution,  or  that  they  naturally  and 
properly  occupy  the  same  position  in  the  work  of  life.  The  educa- 
tion furnished  is  general,  not  professional,  designed  to  fit  men  and 
women  for  any  position  or  work  to  which  they  may  properly  be 
called.  Even  in  the  full  college  curriculum  it  does  not  appear  that 
there  is  any  study  that  would  not  be  helpful  in  the  discipline  and 
furniture  of  an  educated  lady.  But  only  a small  proportion  of  young 
ladies  seeking  an  education  will  naturally  require  the  full  college 
course.  It  is  not  difficult  to  frame  a suitable  course  parallel  with 
the  college  course,  made  up  substantially  of  studies  selected  from 
it,  and  diversified  by  the  addition  of  the  accomplishments  supposed 
to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  female  culture.  Almost  every  Western 
college  has  a scientific  course,  involving  these  substantial  elements. 
The  best  schools  in  the  land  for  the  education  of  ladies  alone  have 
the  same  course.  We  do  not  find  that  any  peculiar  style  of  teach- 
ing is  required  to  adapt  these  studies  to  female  culture.  The 
womanly  nature  will  appropriate  the  material  to  its  own  necessities 
under  its  own  laws.  Young  men  and  women  sit  at  the  same  table 
and  partake  of  the  same,  food,  and  we  have  no  apprehension  that 
the  vital  forces  will  fail  to  elaborate  from  the  common  material  the 
osseous  and  fibrous  and  nervous  tissues  adapted  to  each  frame  and 
constitution.  Except  under  pressure  of  great  external  violence,  the 
female  nature  asserts  itself  by  virtue  of  its  own  inherent  laws.  No 
education  can  make  alike  those  whom  God  has  made  as  unlike  as 
men  and  women. 


10 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


3.  Yet  apprehension  is  felt  and  expressed  that  character  will 
deteriorate  on  one  side  or  on  the  other;  that  young  men  will 
become  frivolous  or  effeminate,  and  young  women  coarse  and  mas- 
culine. The  more  prevalent  opinion  seems  to  be  that,  while  the 
arrangement  may  be  desirable  in  its  effect  on  young  men,  it  will  be 
damaging  to  young  women.  That  young  men  should  become  tri- 
fling or  effeminate,  lose  their  manly  attributes  and  character,  from 
proper  association  with  cultivated  young  women,  is  antecedently 
improbable,  and  false  in  fact.  It  is  the  natural  atmosphere  for  the 
development  of  the  higher  qualities  of  manhood — magnanimity, 
generosity,  true  chivalry,  earnestness.  The  animal  man  is  kept  sub- 
ordinate, in  the  prevalence  of  these  higher  qualities.  We  have 
found  it  the  surest  way  to  make  men  of  boys,  and  gentlemen  of 
rowdies.  It  must  be  a very  poor  specimen  of  masculine  human 
nature  that  is  not  helped  by  the  association,  and  a very  poor. speci- 
men of  a woman  that  does  not  prove  a helper.  In  my  judgment, 
as  the  result  of  experience,  the  chances  are  better  even  for  the  poor 
specimen. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  are  not  womanly  delicacy  and  refinement 
of  character  endangered  ? Will  not  the  young  woman,  pursuing 
her  studies  with  young  men,  take  on  their  manners  and  aspirations 
and  aims,  and  be  turned  aside  from  the  true  ideal  of  womanly  life 
and  character  ? The  thing  is  scarcely  conceivable.  The  natural 
response  of  woman  to  the  exhibition  of  manly  traits  is  in  the  cor- 
relative qualities  of  gentleness,  delicacy,  and  grace.  It  might  better 
be  questioned  whether  the  finer  shadings  of  female  character  can 
be  developed  without  this  natural  stimulus.  If  you  would  transform 
a woman  into  an  Amazon  or  virago,  take  her  apart  from  well- 
constituted  society,  and  train  her  in  isolation  to  a disgust  for  men, 
and  a rough  self-reliance.  You  will  probably  fail  even  thus  in  your 
endeavor ; but  it  is  the  only  chance  of  success. 

But  it  is  my  duty  not  to  reason,  but  to  speak  from  the  limited 
historical  view  assigned  me.  You  would  know  whether  the  result 
with  us  has  been  a large  accession  to  the  numbers  of  coarse,  ‘ strong- 
minded’  women,  in  the  offensive  sense  of  the  word;  and  I say, 
without  hesitation,  that  I do  not  know  of  a single  instance  of  such 
a product  as  the  result  of  our  system  of  education.  It  is  true  that 
in  our  1 Triennial  ’ are  found  the  names  of  three  somewhat  distin- 
guished lady  lecturers,  who  are  some  times  referred  to  as  belonging 
to  this  class.  They  pursued  their  studies  at  Oberlin  from  four  to 
five  years  in  each  case.  But,  whatever  their  present  position  and 
character  may  be,  I have  personal  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  they 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


11 


came  to  us  very  mature  in  thought,  with  their  views  of  life  settled 
and  their  own  plans  and  purposes  determined  and  announced. 
Whatever  help  in  their  chosen  life  they  derived  from  the  advanta- 
ges afforded  them,  they  have  never  given  us  any  credit  for  their 
more  advanced  views  of  woman’s  rights  and  duties.  While  avowing 
a radical  dissent  from  those  views,  I can  not  forbear  to  say  that  I 
am  happy  to  number  these  ladies  among  my  friends,  and  to  express 
my  admiration  of  much  that  is  noble  and  womanly  in  their  charac- 
ter, and  of  their  earnest  but  mistaken  philanthropy. 

To  show  that  our  system  of  education  does  not  bewilder  woman 
with  a vain  ambition,  or  tend  to  turn  her  aside  from  the  work;  which 
God  has  impressed  upon  her  entire  constitution,  I may  state  that  of 
the  eighty-four  ladies  that  have  taken  the  college  course,  twenty- 
seven  only  are  unmarried.  Of  these  twenty-seven,  four  died  early, 
and  of  the  remaining  twenty-three,  twenty  are  graduates  of  less 
than  six  years’  standing.  The  statistics  of  the  graduates  of  the 
Ladies’  Course  would  give  essentially  the  same  result.  There  may 
be  an  apparent  indelicacy,  perhaps,  in  parading  such  private,  domes- 
tic facts ; but  the  importance  of  the  question  upon  which  they  bear 
will  vindicate  the  propriety. 

4.  But  this  view  does  not  touch  the  exact  point  of  the  diffi- 
culty. It  is  in  general  admitted  that  the  association  of  young  men 
and  women,  under  proper  conditions,  is  elevating  instead  of  degrad- 
ing, but  there  is  doubt  whether  bringing  them  together  in  a school 
provides  for  these  proper  associations.  The  wholesome  association 
of  the  young  requires  the  presence  and  influence  of  those  who  are 
mature  and  have  experience  and  a sense  of  responsibility, — more 
of  the  family  influence  than  can  be  secured  in  a large  school.  Is 
there  not  danger  that  young  men  and  young  women  thus  brought 
together  in  the  critical  period  of  life,  when  the  distinctive  social 
tendencies  which  draw  the  sexes  toward  each  other  seem  to  act 
with  greatest  intensity,  will  fail  of  that  necessary  regulative  force 
and  fall  into  undesirable  and  unprofitable  relations  ? Will  not  such 
associations  result  in  weak  and  foolish  love  affairs,  and  in  such 
habits  of  communication  and  social  life  as  lead  to  these  and  grow  out 
of  them. 

It  is  not  strange  that  such  apprehensions  are  felt,  nor  would  it  be 
easy  to  give  an  a ‘priori  answer  to  such  difficulties ; but,  if  we  may 
judge  from  our  experience,  the  difficulties  are  without  foundation. 
I have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  the  conviction  that  in  the  asso- 
ciations of  our  young  people  there  is  as  little  of  this  undesirable 
element  as  is  found  in  any  general  society.  The  danger  in  this 


12 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


direction  results  from  excited  imagination, — from  the  glowing  exag- 
gerations of  youthful  fancy ; and  the  best  remedy  is  to  displace 
these  fancies  by  every-day  facts  and  realities.  The  young  man  shut 
out  from  the  society  of  ladies,  with  the  help  of  the  high-wrought 
representations  of  life  which  poets  and  novelists  afford,  with  only  a 
distant  vision  of  the  reality,  is  the  one  who  is  in  danger.  The 
women  whom  he  sees  are  glorified  by  his  fancy,  and  are  wrought 
into  his  day-dreams  and  night-dreams  as  beings  of  supernatural 
loveliness.  It  would  be  different  if  he  met  them  day  by  day  in  the 
recitation-room,  in  a common  encounter  with  an  algebraic  problem, 
or  at  the  table  sharing  in  the  common  want  of  bread  and  butter. 
There  is  still  room  for  the  fancy  to  work,  but  the  materials  for  the 
picture  are  more  reliable  and  enduring.  Such  association  does  not 
take  all  the  romance  out  of  life,  but  it  gives  as  favorable  conditions 
for  sensible  views  and  actions  upon  these  delicate  questions  as  can 
be  afforded  to  human  nature. 

There  is  another  danger  to  which  the  young  man  is  exposed 
greater  even  than  this  of  a too  high-colored  ideal  of  female  charac- 
ter. It  is  too  low  an  estimate,  springing  from  his  own  sensual  ten- 
dencies, and  darkened  by  a dash  of  misanthropy  which  is  one  of 
the  most  common  ' experiences  of  the  young.  Such  an  ideal 
degrades  the  one  who  indulges  it,  and  mars  his  whole  conception  of 
life.  No  greater  misfortune  can  befall  a young  man  than  to  admit 
to  his  heart  such  a misconception.  It  can  spring  up  only  in  an 
isolated  life,  apart  from  the  society  of  the  pure  and  the  good.  It 
is  good  for  a young  man  to  face  the  facts,  and  let  his  dreams  go, 
whether  bright  or  dark.  In  the  presence  of  these  facts,  he  will  con- 
ceive and  maintain  a genuine  respect  for  women  as  worthy  of  his 
confidence  and  . regard,  which  will  save  him  from  amorous  follies  on 
the  one  side,  and  from  a degrading  misanthropy  on  the  other. 
There  may  be,  here  and  there,  displays  of  these  weaknesses  of 
youth;  and  where  are  there  not?  Among  hundreds  of  the  young, 
such  weak  ones  must  be  found ; but  if  there  is  any  more  potent 
^corrective  than  the  public  sentiment  of  such  a company  of  young 
people  of  ordinary  good  sense,  I have  not  been  able  to  find  it. 

Of  course  there  is  room  for  the  wisdom  which  comes  from  expe- 
rience in  regulating  the  associations  of  such  a school.  The  danger 
seems  to  be  in  both  extremes,  of  too  great  strictness  and  restraint 
and  too  great  laxity,  as  in  all  forms  of  school  discipline.  Those 
who  have  observed  the  pressure  against  restrictions,  where  there  is 
an  attempt  to  prohibit  intercourse,  sometimes  imagine  that  any 
letting-up  would  prove  fatal  to  all  order  and  propriety.  They  would 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


13 


probably  be  surprised  to  find  that  the  sense  of  propriety  and  self- 
respect  of  their  pupils  would  prove  a surer  reliance  than  any  arti- 
ficial barriers  imposed  from  without.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
important  that  the  intercourse  of  the  young  people  be  regulated  by 
such  restrictions  as  the  good  sense  of  the  community  will  justify — 
not  minute  and  arbitrary,  in  an  attempt  to  meet  all  deficiencies  of 
taste  and  judgment,  and  forestall  every  conceivable  impropriety,  but 
comprehensive  and  suggestive,  expanded  as  occasion  may  require  in 
familiar  and  practical  suggestions  from  principal  or  teacher.  It  is 
desirable  that  the  intercourse  of  the  school  be  easy  and  natural,  not 
fettered  at  every  step  by  some  restriction.'  The  government  of  our 
school  would  be  impossible,  except  as  approved  and  sustained  by  the 
great  body  of  the  pupils.  It  would  be  easy,  but  extremely  unwise, 
to  surrender  this  stronghold  in  the  endeavor  to  fortify  ourselves  by 
artificial  barriers. 

The  experience  of  the  Friends  in  this  country  in  the  management 
of  their  schools  is  instructive.  For  many  years  they  have  had 
boarding-schools  at  the  East  and  the  West,  to  which  they  sent  both 
their  sons  and  their  daughters,  but  intended  to  allow  no  association 
between  them  in  the  schools.  They  found  the  undertaking  too 
great.  Walls  could  not  be  built  that  would  entirely  separate  them. 
Within  two  or  three  years  the  policy  has  been  changed  and  the 
walls  removed,  and,  as  I am  informed,  with  the  happiest  results.  A 
regulated  association  becomes  easy  now  which  was  impossible 
before. 

5.  But  will  not  the  young  people  form  such  acquaintances  as 
will  result,  during  their  course  of  study  or  after  they  leave  school, 
in  matrimonial  engagements  ? Undoubtedly  they  will ; and  if  this 
is  a fatal  objection,  the  system  must  be  pronounced  a failure.  The 
majority  of  young  people  form  such  acquaintances  between  the  ages 
of  sixteen  and  twenty-four,  and  these  are  the  years  devoted  to  a 
course  of  study.  It  would  be  a most  unnatural  state  of  things  if 
such  acquaintances  should  not  be  made  in  a school  where  young 
men  and  young  women  are  gathered  in  large  numbers ; nor  is  it  to 
be  expected  that  marriage  engagements  even  will  not  be  formed 
more  or  less  frequently.  Now  and  then  it  may  occur  that  parties 
will  seem  to  h%ve  left  school  for  the  purpose  of  consummating  such 
an  engagement.  The  reasonable  inquiry  in  the  case  is,  whether 
such  acquaintances  and  engagements  can  be  made  under  circum- 
stances more  favorable  to  a wise  and  considerate  adjustment,  or 
more  promising  of  a happy  result.  Are  the  circumstances  such  as 
naturally  to  promote  hasty  and  ill-assorted  marriages?  If  the  sys- 


14 


COEDUCATION  OF  THE  SEXES. 


tem  were  to  stand  or  fall  by  this  one  test,  its  friends  would  have  no 
occasion  to  apprehend  the  result. 

6.  But  what  security  is  there  that  positive  immoralities  may 
not  at  times  occur,  and  startling  scandals  even,  that  shall  shock  the 
community  and  produce  distrust  of  the  system  ? Of  course,  such  a 
thing  might  be  ; but  it  would  scarce  be  logical  to  condemn  the  sys- 
tem on  the  ground  of  such  possibilities  or  even  actualities.  The 
only  pertinent  inquiry  is  whether  such  immoralities  are  the  more 
natural  and  frequent  product  of  this  than  of  other  systems.  Is  the 
moral  atmosphere  of  the  best  and  most  approved  Eastern  colleges 
perfectly  free  from  every  taint  of  impurity  ? Is  the  propriety  of 
the  best-ordered  and  most  carefully-guarded  female  seminary  not 
liable  to  be  broken  in  upon  by  a sporadic  offense  of  this  character  ? 
Such  liabilities  go  everywhere  with  fallen  human  nature ; and  it  has 
not  been  shown  that  the  monastic  institutions  of  either  ancient  or 
modern  times  have  afforded  perfect  security  upon  this  point.  There 
may  have  been  a time  when  one  such  scandal  in  a school  for  joint 
education  would  have  brought  reproach  upon  the  system  and  over- 
whelmed it  with  popular  disgust.  A generation  of  successful  trial, 
under  a sheltering  Providence,  should  have  won  for  it  the  impartial 
judgment  which  is  the  right  of  every  system. 

1.  But  is  this  method  adapted  to  schools  in  general,  or  is  the 
success  attained  at  Oberlin  due  to  peculiar  features  of  the  school 
and  of  the  place,  which  can  rarely  be  found  or  reproduced  else- 
where ? This  idea  is  not  an  unnatural  one,  and  is  somewhat  preva- 
lent. It  is  true,  we  have  been  favored  with  some  special  advan- 
tages. The  place  and  the  school  were  founded  together — a Christian 
enterprise,  with  a common  aim.  From  the  beginning,  the  great 
interest  of  the  place  has  been  the  school.  The  religious  earnestness, 
in  which  the  enterprise  had  its  birth,  has  been  in  some  good  degree 
maintained,  securing  a unity  of  interest  and  of  action  very  rare  in 
the  history  of  schools  and  of  communities.  The  habits  of  the  com- 
munity have  in  a good  degree  taken  their  shape  from  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  school,  and  there  is  a very  general  and  hearty  interest  in 
all  that  pertains  to  its  welfare.  On  the  other  hand,  the  village  has 
increased  until  its  population  numbers  nearly  4000 — a population 
gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  with  a cojored  element 
amounting  perhaps  to  one-fifth  of  the  whole,  of  every  grade  of  cul- 
ture and  of  want  of  culture,  not  in  any  proper  sense  a disturbing 
element,  but  precluding  that  perfect  homogeneity  of  thought  and 
life  embraced  in  the  popular  idea  of  Oberlin  society.  Our  students, 
too,  have  been  so  numerous  as  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  the 


COEDUCATION  OF  TIIE  SEXES. 


15 


close  personal  supervision  attainable  in  a smaller  school ; and  while 
we  have  had  occasion  to  congratulate  ourselves  on  their  general 
character,  their  earnest  endeavors  after  improvement  and  usefulness, 
still  they  are  essentially  like  the  pupils  in  other  schools  at  the  West 
between  the  parallels  which  embrace  the  New-England  emigration, 
with  the  addition  of  the  colored  element,  varying  from  five  to  seven 
per  cent,  of  the  whole. 

The  experiment  was  commenced,  too,  by  those  who  had  had  no 
experience  in  such  a school,  who  had  to  feel  their  way  through  the 
various  questions  involved  in  its  organization  and  arrangement. 
Thus,  with  the  special  advantages  of  our  position,  there  have  been 
some  special  difficulties. 

But  the  experiment  at  Oberlin,  if  the  earliest,  is  by  no  means  the 
only  one.  At  least  a score  of  schools  have  sprung  up  that  have 
adopted  essentially  the  same  plan,  and  I have  yet  to  learn  that  there 
has  been  any  other  than  a uniform  result  in  the  convictions  of  those 
who  have  best  understood  these  movements.  There  are  doubtless 
advantages  in  entering  upon  the  plan  at  the  organization  of  a school 
instead  of  introducing  it  into  a college  already  in  existence.  The 
usual  style  of  college  life,  the  traditional  customs  and  habits  of 
action  and  of  thought,  are  not  suited  to  a school  where  ladies  are 
gathered  as  well,  and  the  changes  required  might  occasion  difficulty 
at  the  outset,  and  peril  the  experiment.  On  this  point  I have  no 
experience;  but  I have  such  confidence  in  the  inherent  vitality  and 
adaptability  of  the  system,  that  I should  be  entirely  willing  to  see 
it  subjected  to  this  test. 

In  concluding  this  statement,  permit  me  to  say  that  I have  no 
special  call  as  an  apostle  or  propagandist  of  this  system  of  educa- 
tion. The  opinions  set  forth  are  such  as,  with  my  limited  expe- 
rience, I am  compelled  to  cherish,  and  when  called  upon,  as  now,  I 
cheerfully  express  them. 


16 


OBERLIN  COLLEGE. 


NOTE. 

Oberlin  College,  apd  Oberlin  as  a settlement  or  town,  originated  in  the 
deep  religious  convictions  of  the  founders  of  both,  which  had  been  awakened 
and  confirmed  in  the  “revivals”  of  1830,  and  the  few  years  following.  The 
author  of  the  plan  of  the  “ Collegiate  Institute,”  on  the  manual  labor  system, 
and  the  “ Covenant,”  under  which  a tract  of  land  three  miles  square,  and  com- 
prising about  eight  thousand  acres,  was  purchased  in  Lorain  County,  at  the  low 
rate  of  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  acre,  was  Rev.  John  J.  Shipherd,  while  he 
was  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Elyria  in  1832.  Associated  with  him, 
in  public  and  private  prayer  and  effort,  was  Mr.  P.  P.  Stewart,  a retired  mis- 
sionary among  the  Cherokees  in  Mississippi,  then  residing  in  Mr.  Shipherd’s 
family.  The  early  colonists  and  students,  deeply  imbued  with  the  religious 
spirit  which  the  preachings  of  Rev.  Charles  Finney  had  awakened,  entered  on 
the  enterprise  with  missionary  zeal,  “lamenting  the  degeneracy  of  the  Church, 
and  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  perishing  world,  arid  ardently  desirous  of 
bringing  both  under  the  influence  of  the  blessed  gospel  of  peace”  and  “of  glori- 
fying God  in  doing  good  to  men  to  the  extent  of  their  ability.”  Assuming  the 
name  of  the  French  pastor  and  educator  of  the  retired  parish  of  Walbach,  in  the 
Ban  de  la  Roche,  they  have  achieved,  within  the  period  measured  by  that  pastor’s 
labors,  an  educational  success,  and  made  their  principles  and  practices  felt  in 
the  political  and  ethical,  as  well  as  the  educational  questions  of  the  day,  to  an 
extent  which  Oberlin  never  aspired  to. 

The  land  was  bought  in  1832 — the  first  log  cabin  on  the  tract,  by  no  means 
inviting  for  settlement,  was  built  in  April,  1833,  and  the  first  college  building 
was  extemporized,  out  of  trees  felled  from  the  till  then  untouched  forest;  in  the 
following  summer,  a church  on  the  Congregational  basis,  but  in  temporary  con- 
nection with  a Presbyterj'-,  was  gathered  in  September,  and  in  December  a school 
was  opened  in  “ Oberlin  Hall,”  with  thirty  pupils,  which  number  before  the 
close  of  May,  1834,  was  increased  to  one  hundred.  And  thus  was  launched  an 
enterprise  which,  in  little  more  than  thirty  years,  has  grown  into  a village  and 
township  of  3000  inhabitants,  and  according  to  the  annual  catalogue  of  1867-68, 
(of  fifty-six  closely-printed  pages,)  and  an  institution  (no  longer  the  “ Oberlin  Col- 
legiate Institute  ” on  the  manual  labor  system,  with  one  undergraduate  student 
of  Western  Reserve  College  as  teacher,)  known  throughout  the  land  as  Oberlin 
College,  with  an  endowment  of  $160,000,  seven  buildings,  and  twenty  pro- 
fessors and  instructors  laboring  in  a Theological  Department  with  11  students  ; 
a College  Department  with  119  students,  9 of  whom  are  ladies  in  a four  years’ 
course ; a Scientific  Course  of  three  years,  with  34  students ; a Preparatory 
Department  with  484  “gentlemen”  students;  a Young  Ladies'  Course  of  four 
years,  with  190  students;  and  a Ladies'  Preparatory  Course  with  294  pupils — 
a grand  total  of  1134  pupils.  Besides  these  regular  courses,  there  is  a “ Teach- 
ers’ Institute  ” every  Fall  term,  continuing  about  six  weeks,  in  which  special 
instruction  is  given  to  those  who  propose  to  teach;  a “Winter  Vacation 
School,”  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Faculty,  in  optional  studies,  commen- 
cing at  the  close  of  the  Autumn  term ; and  a “ Conservatory  of  Music,”  under  a 
Professor  fresh  from  the  Conservatory  of  Music  at  Leipzig  in  Saxony.  And  in 
these  thirty  years,  over  15,000  pupils  have  been  instructed  to  some  extent  in  its 
various  courses.  [We  shall  return  to  Oberlin. — Ed.] 


BOOKS  FOR  THE  TEACHERS’  LIBRARY. 


The  following  works,  issued  separately,  and  under  the  general  title  of  Papers 
for  Teachers  and  Parents,  and  devoted  to  a practical  exposition  of  Methods 
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* The  American  Journal  of  Education edited  by  Henry  Barnard,  LL.  D. 

I.  American  Contributions  to  the  Philosophy  and  Practice  of  Edu- 
cation. By  Professor  William  Russell,  Rev.  Dr.  Hill,  Rev.  Dr.  Hunt- 
ington, Gideon  F.  Thayer,  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Burgess,  and  others.  One 
Volume,  404  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00. 

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Training  Schools  of  Great  Britain.  One  Volume,  434  pages, 
Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00 ; in  goat,  $2.50. 

III.  German  Experience  in  the  Organization,  Instruction,  and  Disci- 
pline of  Public  or  Common  Schools;  with  Treatises  on  Peda- 
gogy, Didactics,  and  Methodology,  by  Professor  Raumer,  Dr. 
Diesterweg,  Dr.  Hentschel,  Dr.  Abbenrode,  Dr.  Dinter,  and  others, 
One  Volume,  482  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.50. 

rv.  Educational  Aphorisms  and  Suggestions  Ancient  and  Modern  with 
an  Index.  One  Volume,  200  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,.  $2.00. 

V.  English  Pedagogy;  or  Treatises  and  Thoughts  on  Education,  the  School, 
and  the  Teacher.  By  Roger  Ascham,  Lord  Bacon,  Sir  Henry  Wotton, 
John  Milton,  Samuel  Hartlib,  Sir  William  Petty,  John  Locke,  Thomas 
Fuller,  William  Shenstone,  Thomas  Gray,  William  Cowper,  George 
Crabbe,  Herbert  Spencer,  and  others.  One  Volume,  480  pages,  $2.50. 

VI.  Pestalozzi  and  Pestalozzianism,  with  Sketches  of  the  Educational 
Views  of  other  Swiss  Educators.  One  Volume,  480  pages,  Octavo, 
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VII.  German  Educational  Reformers — Sturm,  Luther,  Melancthon,  Ratic’n, 
Comenius,  Basedow,  Francke,  Herder,  and  others.  One  Volume,  586 
pages,  Octavo,  $3.50. 

VIII.  French  Schools  and  Pedagogy  ; the  Organization  and  Instruction  of 
Public  Schools,  both  for  General  and  Special  Education;  and  the  Peda- 
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Cousin,  Guizot,  Wilm,  Marcel,  and  others.  One  Volume,  416  pages, 
Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $3.00. 

IX.  Schools  and  Education  in  Northern  Europe,  viz.,  Holland,  Belgium, 

Hanover,  Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Russia.  One  Volume,  316 
pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00. 

X.  Schools  and  Education  in  Greece  and  Italy;  both  Ancient  and 

Modern.  One  Volume,  316  pages,  Octavo,  bound  in  cloth,  $2.00. 

XI.  Secondary  Education;  or  Subjects  and  Methods  of  Instruction  in  Gym- 

nasia, Lycees,  Grammar  Schools,  Academies,  and  High  Schools  for  Boys, 
with  Account,  &c , of  the  Home  and  School  Training  of  Girls,  in  dif- 
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XIL  Superior  Education — An  Historical  Development  of  the  Univer- 
sity, with  an  Account  of  the  Principal  Colleges  and  Universi- 
ties in  Different  Countries.  One  Volume,  520  pages,  $3.00. 

XIII.  Normal  Schools,  and  other  Institutions,  Agencies  and  Means  for 
the  Professional  Training  and  Improvement  of  Teachers  in 
Different  Countries,  with  a List  of  the  best  works  on  the  History, 
Biography,  Principles  and  Methods  of  Education  in  the  French,  Ger- 
man and  English  Languages.  One  Volume,  608  pages,  $3.00. 

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(1867.) 


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BY  HENRY  BARNARD,  LB.  D. 

LATE  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS  IN  CONNECTICUT,  COMMISSIONER  OF  PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS  IN  RHODF.  POLAND,  AND  CHANCELLOR  OF  TIIE  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

(1867  — 


i 


